Hand ups, not handouts

SAVANNAH MAYOR Otis Johnson and City Council are fiscally responsible when they examine how local social service agencies spend taxpayer dollars.

If the money doesn't buy results, then there are plenty of better ways to spend the public's limited funds.

That said, city officials should give the Eastside Concerned Citizens organization a second chance at submitting its proposal for a city grant next year.

Every year, the City Council receives funding requests from dozens of local groups that propose an array of services, from legal aid to counseling to health care. The same is true for the Chatham County Commission. Elected officials sift through these proposals, but typically fund only a portion because of tight budgets.

Since taking office in 2004, Mr. Johnson has put out the word that agencies shouldn't automatically count on the almost $1 million that the city allocates in grants each year. The mayor wants them to show measured results - specifically, in the city's priority areas - to get money.

It's a prudent policy. The era when local governments could easily dole out funds to the many organizations that knocked on their doors ended a long time ago. As budgets get stretched and revenue gets thin, the focus must be on results. Charitable organizations such as the United Way have successfully used that approach to sort through funding requests from local member agencies. It's good that the city is on that same path.

Eastside Concerned Citizens Inc. has been a recipient of city funds, including $25,000 this year. It has spent some of that money on neighborhood improvement projects, such as hosting workshops on house repairs and buying a home, offering medical and dental checkups and helping people conquer substance abuse.

Next year, the group wanted more than double that amount - $55,240. It told city officials that the additional funds would be used to pay six youths to pick up trash in the neighborhood every Saturday and two adults to supervise. These eight people also would remove graffiti and identify houses that need repair.

The city staff, however, recommended denial - and properly so. Private citizens shouldn't need stipends to clean up their own neighborhoods. They should do it out of a sense of pride or civic duty - or simply because they're tired at looking at trash on their streets. City government also runs a Keep Savannah Beautiful campaign (its listed phone number is 651-3685). It offers trash bags, gloves and rakes to groups that ask, and there's no reason to duplicate this effort.

But at the same time city officials are recommending "no" on this specific request, they should find ways to say "yes" to greater citizen involvement. Government can't cure all the city's ills. Residents must roll up their sleeves and be part of the solution.

That's what Eastside Concerned Citizens has done in the past. It's been a force for neighborhood improvement, and it's capable of making positive contributions next year.

Alderman Jeff Felser noted that "it just feels very awkward" that this group provided information about its achievements to City Council, yet is walking away with zero dollars. That's an uncomfortable precedent. If the city isn't careful, it could alienate the very groups it needs as allies.

City officials should do two things:

Make sure every agency and group that wants a grant knows City Council's priorities (public safety, economic development, poverty reduction, neighborhood improvement and efficient fiscal management). Get the word out so citizens and elected officials are reading from the same page.

Give Eastside Concerned Citizens another shot.

The organization's graffiti removal proposal is attractive, for one thing. Too many buildings, signs and other flat surfaces around town have been "tagged" by gangs or morons with spray paint. The city needs all the help it can get in this area.

For another, groups with proven track records, such as Eastside, have earned a second chance.

Again, the city can't afford to hand out its grant money without expecting results. But positive efforts that improve Savannah's quality of life deserve a hand up.